Hunt for evidence as Israel unleashes its strategy of desperation

A prime objective of Israel's withering military offensive across the Palestinian heartlands is to dismember Yasser Arafat's Praetorian guard.

Another is to sever what Israel alleges are direct command-and-control links between the Palestinian leadership and the militia responsible for carrying out terrorist attacks on civilians.

Yet another is to expose what Israel further alleges are shadowy connections between the Palestinian intifada and the intelligence agencies of Iran, Iraq and Syria.

Israel's security authorities have long been convinced that the planning and orchestration of much of the violence of the past 18 months can be traced to Mr Arafat's inner circle.

Hence, from the moment the tanks rolled into the West Bank on Friday, some of the veteran Palestinian leader's most trusted lieutenants were priority targets.");document.write("

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Shaher Habash, the man Israel suspects of fostering dangerous liaisons between Mr Arafat, Hezbollah and Iran, was among the first taken captive. Then, as the Israeli army stormed Mr Arafat's Ramallah compound, they demanded the surrender of intelligence chief Colonel Tawfik Tiwari and key military adviser Mussa Arafat.

Chairman Arafat refused to cooperate, saying he would rather die a martyr than hand over those under his protection.

Israel is not only out to arrest or eliminate the ringleaders of the campaign of terror. It is also intent on assembling a body of evidence to prove not only that Mr Arafat and his closest colleagues are implicated directly, but that the Palestinian leadership is conniving with terrorists in southern Lebanon, with help from Iran, Iraq and Syria.

None of these claims are readily corroborated, or at least not without compromising intelligence sources. This is a similar challenge to that facing the Bush administration as it seeks to build the case for the existence of an "axis of evil".

The Sharon government is working to a blueprint developed at least a year ago. It involves the arrest and capture of at least 100 prominent Palestinian officials for interrogation.

The political and military risks inherent in such a large-scale operation are manifest.

That Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has waited until now to proceed indicates the level of his government's desperation in the face of repeated suicide bombings and the failure to revive ceasefire talks.

During the weekend clashes in Ramallah, Israeli forces detained more than 60 Palestinian officials and bodyguards.

But security sources insisted more militants remained in hiding in the leader's compound, seeking the protection of Mr Arafat's "immunity".

Among them was said to be the mastermind of the assassination of Rehavam Ze'evi, a far-right Israeli cabinet minister shot dead in east Jerusalem in October.

One individual the Israelis are particularly eager to question is Colonel Tiwari.

As head of the General Intelligence Service, he is reputedly Mr Arafat's linkman to the al-Aqsa Brigades, which have joined Tanzim as one of the feared militant offshoots of Fatah.

The Aqsa Brigades have claimed responsibility for the two "revenge" bombings in Israel over the weekend, one of them carried out by 18-year-old student, Aayat al-Akhras.

Who in their right mind would send such a young woman on a suicide mission?

Clearly, Israel believes Colonel Tiwari might be able to help shed some light on this.